Wim Wenders Celebrated with TIFF Retrospective, Vinyl Compilation

Wim Wenders Celebrated with TIFF Retrospective, Vinyl Compilation
From Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire to Buena Vista Social Club and Pina, German director Wim Wenders has had a truly overwhelming career. While he continues to crank out new material at an alarming pace, there's still plenty to dig into for both casual and hardcore fans alike. Fortunately, later this month, TIFF Cinematheque is set to launch an in-depth Wim Wenders retrospective.

The series is called On the Road: The Films of Wim Wenders, and it runs from January 28 to March 6 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Curated by Brad Deane, the series features 15 features and six short films.

Many of Wenders' early films have been difficult to access in North America due to rights issues and poor print conditions. Fortunately, some of Wenders' essential early works have been restored to be shown here.

Among them is a rare five-hour cut of Wenders' sci-fi epic Until the End of the World. The film's grand scope extends past its runtime and into its soundtrack — it features commissioned work from U2, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed and Patti Smith. A trailer for the film is available below.

Concurrent to the celebration, TIFF will also run a series called Wim's Films: American Friends & Foreign Influences from January 30 to March 17. The series includes works from Samuel Fuller, John Ford, Michael Antonioni and others.

As if that weren't enough, the iconic director celebrated his 70th birthday last month. To coincide with his milestone, the music of his films has been pressed to a limited edition, triple-LP set. Called Wim's — Driven by Music, the release includes material from Bryan Ferry, Radiohead, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Can and many others.

Learn more about TIFF's Wim Wenders retrospective here, and order your copy of Wim Wenders compilation here.


Side A: 
1. Portishead "The Rip"
2. Calexico "El Morro" 
3. Jürgen Knieper "Der Himmel über Berlin (Theme)" 
4. Crime & The City Solution "Goddess"
5. Bryan Ferry "Falling in Love Again"
6. Bonnie Prince Billy "Cal's Song"

Side B: 
1. Ry Cooder "Paris, Texas (Theme)"
2. Texas "I Don't Want a Lover"
3. Irmin Schmidt "Flavia's Theme" 
4. New World Renaissance Band "La Prima Vez"
5. BAP "Diego Paz wohr nungzehn"
6. Axel Linstädt "Nine Feet Over the Tarmac"

Side C: 
1. Get Well Soon "The Survivors"
2. Lou Reed "What's Good"
3. Sibylle Baier "Wim"
4. Mick Harvey "The Songs that You Left"
5. Die Toten Hosen "Wofür Man Lebt"
6. U2 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
7. Travis "Idlewild"

Side D: 
1. Patti Smith "Wing"
2. Thom "Rooftop"
3. Monta "When the Cold Wind"
4. The Eels "Souljacker Pt. I"
5. Lovegrove (feat. P. Flåta) "Renegade Queen"
6. Sqürl "Francine Says"

Side E: 
1. Radiohead "Karma Police"
2. Laurent Petitgand "Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining"
3. Roxy Music "Bitter Sweet" 
4. Can "Last Night Sleep"
5. Laurie Anderson "Tightrope" 
6. Nick Cave "Into My Arms"

Side F: 
1. And The Golden Choir "The Queen Of Snow" 
2. Pieta Brown "Drifter"
3. Lovegrove (feat. Gemma Ray) "Halfway To Paradise"
4. Jun Miyake "Building Man"
5. Irmin Schmidt "Strange Luck" 
6. Wim (the band) "Betty"